Lane Montgomery

Finding the faith

Weaving in and out between two languages, Lane Montgomery prayed and listened during a service at Temple Beth Israel.

Wearing a head covering called the kippa and reciting the words of the ancient and lyrical Hebrew language, Montgomery seemed poised while delving into his faith.

Being Jewish is not something he takes for granted. He spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of the religion that has a history that spans thousands of years.

After attending Temple Beth Israel for the past two years, he said he has felt like a Jew for a while. In June, he actually became Jewish.

Converting to Judaism is not something that happens often -- in fact, it's actually discouraged by the religious officials, according to Rabbi Jonathan Plaut.

``Judaism and the Jewish people are multifaceted,'' Plaut said. ``It's not just faith-based, it's also culture, history -- a 4,000- or 5,000-year-old history.''

Montgomery, 24 of Michigan Center, decided to explore other faiths once he was out of high school.

``I had been going (to church) so I continued to go and it just really didn't appeal to me,'' he said. ``Once you start making your own decisions, it's like `What does this mean to me? And do I really, I mean let's be honest, do I really appreciate going every week?'''

For Montgomery, the conversion process took two years -- however, this length of time can vary among people.

``Judaism is more of an earned conversion,'' Montgomery said.

Above all, it was the strong community that really drew Montgomery to Judaism, as well as the fact that the faith was very action-oriented.

``You keep living and you keep living it,'' he said.

Some (or most) of that stuff I never said. But in it's own way it is a good summary of the 30 minute or so interview I got, so I'm not complaining.